Unwanted Publicity

They say that all publicity is good publicity but it was a big disappointment to discover that two Singapore hotels figure prominently in Asia's Top Ten Dirtiest Hotels.

To make matters worse the ill-named Goldkist Beach Resort heads the list.  One poor guest was disconcerted to learn that “Taxi Drivers will laugh if you say you are staying here”  and I quote "Waaa, why stay there lah! This place only for party at beach, better stay somewhere else, not good for tourist".

Aspinalls ("Sleeping on the street would have been cleaner") came in third.

There is actually no excuse for filth and lousy service and I am sure the Singapore Tourist Bureau will be paying them a visit, along with the environmental agencies.

When an Australian guest writes: "No words can describe how horrible this place is and not exaggerating when I say it is the worst hotel I have ever stayed in" then this sort of bad press travels on the web and undoes all of the excellent work the STB does to promote Singapore.

To provide a balanced review I sought out the best service for hotels in Asia thinking that at least one Singapore hotel would make the list, given the national emphasis on service training for staff - alas no.

But all is not entirely lost as The Quincy Hotel ranked #1 as the Trendist Hotel in Asia and the New Majestic made #9 in the same category.

Next year it would be nice to see a Singapore hotel top all of the best categories; now that would be a goal to aim for.

Related articles

• America's Dirtiest Hotel Announces Hiring of Housekeeper [Travel] (gawker.com)
• Singapore's Marina Bay Sands hotel (lostateminor.com)
• Singapore: A Long Way From Vegas (online.wsj.com)

CNY Goodies and the Results

While all New Year goodies taste delicious one should remember that there is a 'cost' to everything!

Seeing it is the year of the Rabbit it might be advisable to do what the 'lapin' do and just eat carrots.


- 1 whole mandarin orange (60g) 28 calories

- 2 pieces of kueh bangkit (10g) 38 calories

- 1 piece of nian gao (20g) 46 calories

- 2 pieces of love letters (26g) 112 calories

- 1 handful of peanuts (20g) 113 calories

- 1 handful of cashew nuts (20g) 116 calories

- 2 pieces of cashew nut cookies (24g) 124 calories

- 2 pieces of pineapple tarts (50g) 164 calories

- I handful of prawn rolls (45g) 228 calories

- 1 slice of pork bak kwa (57g) 229 calories

- 1 handful of melon seeds (45g) 251 calories

source: Today Online

Related articles

• Forget going to the gym, just get out the bucket: Mopping uses more calories says study (dailymail.co.uk)
• Seeds and nuts: a nutritious Tet snack (lookatvietnam.com)

Flying High

Image by Sherwin Huang via FlickrBeing a maid in Singapore is clearly a 'dying art'. On Thursday yet another maid fell to her death while attempting to clean windows from a great height.

Standing on flimsy stools and leaning out to clean the glass is simply not a good idea and during our four years in Singapore it was not an uncommon occurence for such accidents to happen.

Short of employing maids with wings, there is not much that can be done about this practice unless highrise residents are prepared to accept that 'dust happens'.

The exterior of our condo windows were never sparkling clean as tropical rains and nearby road dust ensured that visibility was less than pristine.

Last October another maid fell to her death.  This took place in Commonwealth Avenue where we used to live.

The Manpower Ministry attempts to improve safety awareness but accidents related to maids cleaning windows, hanging laundry or watering plants continues.

MoM adopts a carrot and stick approach; they offer safety courses but are also prepared to take court action against employers who failed to provide safe working environments.

Penalties include a fine of $5,000, jail for up to six months and being banned from hiring domestic servants.

Such accidents aren't confined to Singapore.  Saudi Arabia has a poorer record in this regard and some of the circumstances are far more suspicious. e.g. "fell from a two-story building while trying to run away from her sponsor".

Maids are a fact of life in Singapore and many modern Singaporean families would find it difficult to operate without them.

Incidents of maid abuse do happen but they are fortunately rare. I observed in our own condo that some employers made their maids very much part of the family while others adopted a far more rigorous form of servitude.

We did not employ a maid during our time in Singapore although many PR's and Expats did and still do.

Related articles

• Filipina maid inherits millions from Singaporean employer (globalnation.inquirer.net)
• Indonesian maid 'killed in Saudi' (bbc.co.uk)

Sure To Rise

"Sure To Rise" is the slogan of a popular brand of New Zealand baking powder.

The same term could very well apply the era of  ever increasing food prices which have become a grudgingly accepted fact of life.

The first three months of this year will see a soaring cost of living in Singapore thanks largely to food price rises.

This, in combination with a 3.8% inflation rate, is impacting strongly on the lives of Singaporeans but they are not alone in facing such challenges.

In New Zealand though the figures are as bad and we have been bemused by the increases in basic food stuffs from 2006, when we left for Singapore, until this year when we returned.

There has been an 11.3% decrease in purchasing power over this period which means that a shopping basket of items and services costing $NZ200 in 2006 by the third quarter of last year would have cost an extra $25.58.

In the last quarter of 2010 New Zealand food prices alone rose 2.4% and as the graph shows almost every quarter since 2007 has shown an increase, with only two exceptions.

The recent spate of natural and economic disasters aren't helping matters and the figures reflect a classic case of over demand (largely from emerging economies) and under supply.

The other challenge the Singapore government has is to dampen down the rampant speculation in property which continues to drive up prices - prices rises are great if you own a property but not so great if you are trying to buy into one.

A sharp hike in sellers' stamp duty for any resale within four years of purchase has been legislated which will significantly increase transaction costs and lower the profits of Singaporean investors.

Related articles

• Singapore Budget Surplus of S$6 Billion (socyberty.com)
• Singapore Pledges Property-Bubble Prevention (online.wsj.com)
• Singapore Consumer prices rise at a fast pace (risingsunofnihon.com)

Biblical Proportions

A resident caught up in the Queensland floods has described the flash flood that hit Toowoomba as "biblical".

It was at 500m wide torrent and travelling at least 80 or 90 miles an hour, tossing cars and other man-made objects about like matchsticks.

Some of these cars still had people in them which shows the frailty of human life and how powerless we really are against the fundamental forces of nature.

Flooding is a common occurrence in Queensland and its more benign for is known as "The Big Wet" .  It is looked forward to by farmers as a welcome respite from the drought conditions that blight much of inland Australia.

This week's event though is something else and makes the seasonal flooding of Singapore looks like a child's paddling pool compared to the ocean.  The flooding of the basement levels of Lucky Plaza in Orchard Road is nothing compared to whole suburbs of Australias third largest city being submerged.

The flood has just peaked in Brisbane; a city which is well known to Kiwis as many of us either live in Queensland, visit regularly, or retire there.

Flooding is not uncommon in New Zealand but never on this scale.  We regard the Aussies as kin (even though we may say otherwise on the sporting field) so we are all deeply concerned about the fate of the thousands of Queenslanders affected by these floods.

Watch live streaming video from brisbanefloods at livestream.com

The other thing to remember is that once the floods dissipate, the state then faces a massive task of cleaning up.  I do not know the situation with the state museum and also the library on the South Bank of the Brisbane river but their plight must be dire.

Parks, roads and suburbs which are currently one big lake will become firstly a mud bath and then a dust bowl once the Queensland sun starts to dry things out.

Queensland Fashion - There is always someone on the Net with a sense of humour
(although probably not appreciated by the residents of the state)

Related articles

• Now Australia's killer floods pour into Brisbane (independent.co.uk)
• 78 missing as 'instant tsunami' hits Aussie town (msnbc.msn.com)
• Thousands flee Brisbane, flash floods kill 10 (globaltvbc.com)
• A dam and a prayer (theage.com.au)

Sand Series

Inspired by a pile of builder's sand!

Open publication 

Today's Print

I went for a drive today with my camera and came across some cement blocks, which were the starting point for this print.

Click on it to get the larger image.

Boom Boom

Yesterday was a momentous day not the least that is was another New Years Day. It also happened to be the start of a new decade; a fact that was lost on most people preoccupied with post-Xmas sales.

It was momentous for a third reason.

January 1st, 2011 heralded the start of retirement for the Baby Boomer generation. This is the year that the first of the Baby Boomers start collecting the pension if they are lucky enough to live in a country that provides one.

It is confession time - I am one of this demographic.  We are apparently one of the most wealthy segments of society, although this remains somewhat debatable. 

According to Wikipedia, in 2004, the UK baby boomers held 80% of the UK's wealth.  There are however many pensioners who struggle to repay their debts once they get into retirement.

The Baby Boom - 1946-1965

According to the same source, our characteristics are: experimental, individualism, free spirited, social cause oriented.

Having survived the "Purple Haze" of the Sixties I can but concur that the youth culture permeated all aspects of life, from the music of Merseyside, footsteps on the moon, Hippiedom, psychedelic art, to protesting against the Vietnam War.

Most of us try to forget the disco era with its gold medallions, platform shoes, curly locks and open chested shirts -  it was but a passing aberration as we moved on to a much more refined and gentile existence!

But there is one side of being a baby boomer that grates and that is being portrayed in contemporary media as an potential burden on society.

I am not one of those who qualify for the pension, even though I have chosen to semi-retire earlier than most of my contemporaries.  Like them I have worked for more than forty years and paid up to a third of my salary in taxes.

Basil Brush

My New Zealand taxes have supported generations of dole bludgers who have not done an honest day's work in their lives.

At least working in Singapore meant that the taxes were lower and you looked after yourself.  If you chose not to work then you understood personal consequences of your actions, and that is the way it should be.

So I shall feel not the slightest burden on society when my time for a pension arrives.  Nor shall I heed the none too subtle 'encouragement' from various quarters to work beyond 65.  It will be my choice should I choose to do so and nobody else's.

To quote Basil Brush who first appeared on our tv screens in the '60's, ""Ha Ha Ha, Boom! Boom!"

Related articles

• Lowering 'boom' on Medicare: 7,000 new recipients every day! (nydailynews.com)
• Baby Boomers Hit New Milestone ... Age 65 (boomercafe.com)
• 'Silver tsunami' of baby boomers turning 65 delayed in Canada (healthzone.ca)
• Record numbers to turn 65 in 2011... But baby boomers face bleak financial future, experts warn (dailymail.co.uk)
• LIFE magazine on "LSD Art," 1966 (boingboing.net)